What goes on in a Design Company?

I sent out a couple of e-mails to some locally based design companies to see if I could arrange to meet with the designers and observe the processes involved in the life of a graphic design team. I would hope to learn how they go about a project as well as tricks of the trade and gain general experience of work in the industry. I will also try to interview a couple of the people there to get more concise information. I hope one of the companies will take me on as it will be a genuinely interesting experience and I feel I could learn a lot.

Learning about the Industry - Tom Maurice

Today we met Tom Maurice, who is a member of the Sun House Design team. Sun House Design works with larger businesses and companies doing graphic work, most recently branding and logo design. Sun House Design was founded in 2008, and consists of a team of around six designers who work on multiple projects for a number of clients, in the last few years they have been working for some big companies. They have kept their business small to make best use of funding. Tom himself is a good communicator and very knowledgeable about the industry; he has a degree in Graphic Design where he studied at the University of Edinburgh. He started out working temp jobs and eventually got a place in the BBC for five years, he then found a placement at Bristol based Epoch Design as a designer. He found that he had a skill in working with clients and this eventually led to him to do design work for them. Tom has worked with many big companies, names like the BBC, Marmite, Master Chef, Danone and Selfridges. An upcoming movie in 2013 based on the 2002 series; ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ is scheduled for release and the company behind it were on the market for a redesign of the old logo. Sun House, (along with some other design companies) were paid three thousand to come up with some potential logos and then pitch them. Sun House spent a total of ten thousand to fund the facilities, wages and pitch so they were making a bit of a gamble. They spent a lot of money and put a lot of effort into something which might work out as a big loss so there are definitely risks to this business. Sun House came up with many variations of logos for Walking with Dinosaurs and considered every medium of the usage (in film posters, merchandising and more). I hope they get this job as they have put so much effort and money into it and have come out with some excellent designs and logos, although they know the risk of losing out is possible, the benefit of the win though is worth the risk of losing it seems. I learned the importance of really getting into the brief of the client and experimenting with multiple designs, examining the existing market thoroughly, looking at intrinsic and extrinsic values of existing designs in that field as well as noticing clichés. Also it is good to show your design (if relevant) in realistic scenarios, like on billboards, posters, even if it’s just superimposing on an existing advertisement. The clients really like to see what the finished design will look like when displayed as such. When it comes to logos, it is fundamental to consider the logo for all mediums. It’s no good making complex multi-coloured logos if they don’t work on shop windows or are illegible in black and white. Take care when making a logo and consider this or create suitable renditions for specific scenarios. There is also no harm in using other designs for inspiration; designs can always be modified to avoid plagiarism. Pitching to clients in paper is often more professional then using a big screen projector, there is a feeling with a high-quality colour print which can’t be unmatched and there will be no issues with any software or decreased quality on an A1/A2 paper board. Client Relations are very important to uphold and a good relationship with a client is good for your image as well as for business. Don’t go burning bridges between clients as it might come back to bite you in the future, Tom couldn’t stress this enough.

Client Work!

I have just spoken to Tom, who runs his own music shop in my hometown of Frome, and I have been informed of his need for a new logo for his business. He is currently working on making a website for the business but still needs a new logo as the old one is looking a bit out of date:

I am to call him again next week to arrange a date and time to bring in some draft designs of a new possible logo and to further discuss into the matter.

Learning about the Industry – Nadine Wickenden

This morning we were introduced to Nadine Wickenden, who works with illustration. She became interested in illustration during school where she did A levels in Art & Design and Illustration, she then went on to do a degree in the subject. She then began work in a studio where she found an agent to support her in her career. She started out designing packaging and advertisements and found a niche in cookery books and children’s story books. She also found an interest in combining other materials with her work. She was fond of using traditional methods of drawing, using watercolour paints and using pieces of fabric and textiles. Her work has a very unique ‘feel’ to it and this is obviously her signature style as a designer and illustrator. Her work is very florid and pleasant and I think this is bolstered by the use of her own little caricatures and traditional methods. Nadine brought in some of her own work for us to see which was nice and gave us a flavour of what she does and her target market. The thing I most liked about her work was the way she had stuck to a specific style of design, creating an image and style for yourself can play an important part of your career if you’re to reach out to certain markets. Deciding what style and clients to go for though can be a difficult choice to make.

Design Submition!

For the last week I have paired up with Max to create a website for a travel and logistics company on 99designs.com. The company was called the 'Naouri Group' and they are based in the Middle East. The brief required us to create two pages of a website for them. Me and Max discussed and planned over MSN and during lectures about how to go about our design and set ourselves tasks and deadlines. We both had a go at creating the index page, and showed each other what we had done. We then pointed out the positives and negatives of each design and managed to take the best factors of each design and combined them so that we were both pleased. After making the index page, we did the same process to create the second and when we were both satisfied it was done, I uploaded them to the competition with fingers crossed. There is a cash reward of $500 to the winner, which if we won, would split half and half. If we don’t win, I don’t feel as if I would walk away with nothing. The experience of working for a brief professionally made me much more aware of the industry and after looking at some of the other submissions, shows me how competitive it is. I've also learned the importance of synergy and with working with others, I dont think our final design would have been as good if it had just been done by one of us.

Learning about the Industry - Louise Owen

Today we met Louise Owen, who is another member of the Ice House team and the wife of Jack Owen, who we met last week. Louise taught us the fundamentals of making a design portfolio and means of getting work/clients. She told us that when it comes to making a portfolio, the important thing is that it is well presented, good quality imagery and no spelling mistakes! She also suggested that alongside our work we can show the creative processes and decisions that went into it. Also documenting the product if it is used in advertisement (so a photo of it if it was on a billboard). As for the person presenting the portfolio, they need to show passion for the subject as well have good communication and show a broad range of knowledge of the industry, clients will not frown upon you for asking questions and wanting to learn. If a freelancer has feedback from other clients they have worked for, this would be a good thing to include in the portfolio as well. When assembling our own portfolio, we should not overburden it with hundreds of images, we should keep it simple and to a minimum of about 12 of our best designs/projects. Louise initially started off as a freelancer working very hard for not a lot in return; she spent almost a year trying to get a steady job in the industry until she got one and gradually went up in the ranks until she could fund Ice House. Louise taught us the value of self presentation as well as maintaining the presentation of our own work. From what I gathered from Louise, it seems we still have a lot to learn about this industry and not any one person can expect to start out without making mistakes, the important thing it to learn from them.

Learning about the Industry - Jack Owen and Ice House Design

At 12:00pm this morning, we had the pleasure of meeting Jack Owen, who is one of the founders of Ice House Design, based in Bath. The company has been running for over fifteen years and it consists of a team of four designers. The company prefer to work primarily on print based briefs, but hire other businesses to assist in more digital based objectives, or they hire photographers if they need photos. Other times though, they will often use stock images or illustration when working with clients. Speaking of which, Jack told us that when it came to clients, Ice House targeted small to medium sized businesses. They don’t get many big jobs from clients, but recently they are working for the National Trust, creating some appealing design work advertising Corfe Castle. They have been completing the various stages of the brief over nine months so far, they will be receiving around thirty thousand pounds for this project.  When Ice House started out, they were doing simple freelancing, for small companies but eventually grew as they became better known. Jack told us how he was dissuaded by advertising the company too much because of costs. He explained to us that the most effective type of advertising he used was in the form of Business Cards as he could manufacture them in bulk for a lot less money. All of the work Ice House had done for clients was recorded in portfolios to which they could display to new clients. The clients they had worked for included names like Marks and Spencer and WHSmith and after completion of the briefs with these clients, Ice House were left positive feedback which was also helpful to their image. Companies that Ice House have worked for in the past are kept on the register and often come back to them for more work that needs done. It was most interesting learning from Jack about his personal experiences and a bit about the design industry we strive to work in. Jack himself was very humble, and he told us that he didn’t even have a degree in Graphics! And yet this didn’t stop him doing what he was passionate about. The most valuable lesson I learned from him was the importance of a person’s attitude. When you’re looking for a job or working for a client, the important thing is to maintain a good attitude, to show your passion for the subject. Never rely on skills alone.

Introduction

Today we started our Professional Studies assignment, which I have learned is a bit more in-depth then it was last year. Our lecturer, Catherine explained to us the objectives of the brief. This year it seems there is a lot more consideration and individual work that needs to be done. In our quest to become more professional designers, we must examine the ways of existing designers, to find out what they have experienced, uncover more about the design industry, and learn valuable lessons which will aid us in our own careers in it. Our main task in the brief is to make ourselves ready to realistically start working in the design industry. The best way to start is to get you known throughout the design world, whether it’s by freelancing, portfolios, or even by making blogs and entering online design competitions. I felt the best way to start was to create a blog of my experiences over the next few months working toward being in the design industry.